On the road to Rutènes

3 points of interest

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  Agriculture

  Olive farming

  Two oil mills used to exist halfway up the slope amidst the tarraces. Most families had olive and grapevine plots of varying sizes on the south-facing side. The olives were harvested as of 25 November : “on St Catherine’s Day, pick your olives, if there’s no oil in them, don’t expect any later”. 
  The millstone was turned by a mule; the olives, first crushed then pressed, released the virgin oil first. “We poured boiling water on and continued to press. Three or four men braced themselves against the press to make sure that nothing but crushed stones remained in the paillassous (baskets). The stones were fed to the pigs, which loved them. Nothing was allowed to go to waste.”

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  Geology

  The Arre valley

  The path climbs steadily over fallow crop terraces. The higher you get, the wilder and more typical of dry limestone soils is the vegetation: white oaks, box trees, thyme, etc.

  Opposite, the Causse de Blandas plateau overlooks the Arre. Following a geological incident, the river was diverted and dug its bed into the limestone, thus separating Esparon from the Causse. Halfway between Molières and Esparon, the Déroucades blockfield, created by an earthquake in 580, lies on a faultline.

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  History

  The origin of the villages’ names

  Molières comes from the Occitan molièra, meaning “bog, wetland”. The valley below the village was a swamp. Known from 1162 onwards by the name of Eclésia Santi Johannes de Molieyrus, the village received its current name in 1435.
  Esparon comes from the Occitan esparron, which means “echelon, banister”. A castle built against the rock surveyed the Esparon valley and pass; it was destroyed during the crusade against the Albigensians in the 13th century.